Yuugen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A profound feeling of beauty and mystery often associated with the universe and nature raises a sense of the unknowable
2. An aesthetic concept capturing a deep, intuitive perception of the universe's beauty and depth, evoking emotional reverence
3. A recognition of the profound and eternal beauty present in the world, evoking feelings that transcend logical understanding

Etymology: Its roots lie in Chinese, where "you" meant dim or secluded and "xuan" meant dark or profound. Together they described something hidden in shadow. Japanese adopted the pair as "yūgen" and gradually turned it from a description of remote, shadowy things into a term of artistic criticism, applied to poetry whose deeper meaning lies beneath its surface words. Its most famous use came in noh theatre. The performer and playwright Zeami, writing in the early 1400s, treated yūgen as the highest quality a performance could reach, achieved through restraint so that the audience senses more than is shown. The older sense of concealment survives in this idea: the beauty is valued because it is not fully revealed.

Synonyms: mysterious depth, profound beauty